Impassible Barriers in Tyria

Talking about the new castle in Wayfarer and its impassable gate has got me thinking about other barriers in Tyria and what might lie beyond them. I surveyed my map and made my way back to a lot of these places I remembered from previous adventures. I quickly discovered that a lot of these areas could be accessed through events I had yet to discover, by completing a jumping puzzle, or through a personal story path. Still the most interesting were those pathways that I couldn't get past. These routes are blocked off presumably because the content behind these barriers has not yet been released. Today I would like to share with you some of these locations in Tyria and speculate as to what might lie beyond.

The first, and one of the most obvious, is the gate guarded by Tengu in Caledon Forest, near Titan's Staircase Waypoint.

This is the view that will greet you as you approach. A massive wall blocks passage along the entire eastern extent of this zone. The Dominion of Winds lay beyond.

You can speak with the local Tengu to attempt to learn more. The one that will talk is reluctant to give details. The others seem to be basking in the monotony of guard duty.

Although there personalities may be lacking the Tengu look awesome and would make an amazing playable race. Now if the last Tengu city lays beyond these walls, presumably, if Arena Net added them as a playable race their capital city would be right there. It is a good location as it is beside a starting level zone and near the other major cities. The stage is set for them to enter the game, the question is, will Arena Net pull the trigger?

Finally, the Tengu city was built on top of an area that was accessible in the original Guild Wars called Sanctum Cay. I have never played Guild Wars so all I could tell you is what is on the wiki article or what I see in youtube videos. It appears to be an instanced mission where you are tasked with delivering a scepter to an NPC. Along the way you battle drakes, giants, undead, and White Mantel forces. Will we ever visit this island in Guild Wars 2? Only time will tell.

Next we move to Sparkfly Fen. On the western side of the map is a blocked off pathway near Karinn's Passage north of Forvar's Waypoint.

The way is blocked by a stone barrier.

Way back in November, before access to Southsun Cove was granted by boat in Lion's Arch, I thought this is where we would access the island from. With those events long past it remains a mystery where this may lead, however, on Southsun we can discover what looks like another pathway leading to the same area.

Again the path is blocked by a stone barrier.

What could possibly fit in the narrow area between Southsun and Sparkfly Fen? It would have to be an extremely narrow zone or perhaps Southsun Cove will be expanded in the future. Maybe with a small refugee city on the land between the zones? Or maybe a zone related to the Tengu if they are ever added as playable race.

Next, near Ebonhawke is a gateway leading to the Crystal Desert. This is area I most look forward to opening but for now we are just presented with this locked gate near the Blackwing Excavation east of Ebonhawke.

You can talk with the two guards, but do not expect to learn much.

By playing through the story mode of the dungeons we learn about Destiny's Edge and their battle with Kralkatorrik. These are events that took place very recently in the Guild Wars timeline just five years ago. I hope we as players get to finish the job Destiny's Edge couldn't and slay the dragon.

You can get a feel for what might lie beyond this gate from the original Guild Wars, but most likely the desert has changed greatly since then due to the forces of the undead King Palawa Joko in the south, Kralkatorrik in the north, and Zhaitan in the west. The conflict sounds exciting and I would very much like to explore the desert.

Also alluding to an advance into the Crystal Desert is this next barrier in the southeast corner of Mount Maelstrom at Judgement Rock near Judgement Waypoint.

The way is blocked by a overgrown barrier.

You can jump and get on top of the wall. Looking beyond it you can see a dead end to the right and an open area to the left perhaps where a future portal to a new zone will be. This would then lead to a zone off to the east of Mount Maelstrom towards the Crystal Desert. With Zhaitan defeated in Orr perhaps we will see Tyrian forces exploring the western frontiers of the desert and reestablishing contact with Elona and beyond.

Next we move to the Western edge of Tyria to Brisbane Wildlands near Lionshead Outcrops west of Seraph Observers Waypoint.

On the top of an unreachable hill you can see a portal to another zone.

Nearby, in Vandal's Claim, north of Triforge Point Waypoint there is a bandit castle.

It is occupied by champion level 80 bandits.

The fort is inaccessible at the moment but shortly after the Guild Wars 2 launched a number of people found their way in which you can see on youtube. Inside appears to be a zone portal heading to the west again hinting at future expansions to the explorable areas in the Maguuma Wastes.

Finally, we head to the north eastern corner of Frostgorge Sound, near Drakkar Spurs.

Here we find a pathway leading to an ice wall.

The area where this wall is found is named Drakkar Spurs after one of Jormag's champions. In the Guild Wars storyline Drakkar corrupted Svanir while he was frozen deep in a lake. Though Svanir was defeated we still see his influence in the world of Guild Wars 2 in the form of the Sons of Svanir. Also, the lake that once contained Drakkar is no longer frozen alluding to a future confrontation with him. Perhaps, in future expansions of Guild Wars 2 we will get to track down the source of all this corruption, Jormag, add end him.

Those were all the barriers I was able to find in Tyria. Maybe there are more I have missed. If you know of one please let me know in the comments. I have marked all the above mentioned pathways on to this map of Tyria to help give you an idea of the different areas that we might visit in the near future.

If you are looking for hints as to what might lay beyond you can compare the locations of these pathways to That_Shaman's Guild Wars 2 map. He has marked locations accessible in Guild Wars on to this map. It is a handy tool for exploring the geography and history of Tyria through the two games. The two timelines found on the Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 wikis also come in handy as a temporal map.

I hope you enjoyed this article. Again, let me know if you see anything similar in your journeys in Tyria. I am sure I probably missed some. Also, let me know which areas you are most interested in seeing opened up. Would you rather visit the Dominion of the Winds or the Maguuma Wastes? Do you want to take on Jormag or Kralkatorrik first? Let me know in the comments.

22 comments:

Darn you stole my cookie! I was putting together the very same article!!! FANTASTIC job by the way. And, no, I don't think you missed any blocked portals :) Very good read, thank you Baron.~thevalliant, of DragonSeason

I've had to split my comment in two because it's so long. Sorry for the ramble in advance.

You haven't played Guild Wars? I think you're missing out, man. You seem to be really into the lore. Perhaps you should look into watching a Let's Play like Wooden Potatoes or something?

To the topic at hand you bring up some good points. However, I want to add some information that might fill in some holes.

If you got the collector's edition version of GW2, you get a book about the making of GW2. On the page for the Tengu, they say something that actually really disappointed me when I read it. I believe it says something along the lines that when they came up with the idea of Guild Wars 2, they had to take a look at all their races and decide what roles they would play; Who would be playable, who would be a "minor race" and how they would have evolved from GW1. In their planning, they decided that the Tengu would not be a playable race. The fact that it definitively says this is disheartening - especially for people like me who have Talon Silverwing as their favourite henchman from GW1. The Tengu are an old and rich culture that would be a welcome adition as a playable race, but sadly it looks like this is not the case.

That's not to say the Dominion of Winds will never open to us. In fact, it's location reveals that there may be TWO maps involved with the Tengu. Your list is missing two important ones, I feel. The first of which is Tengu related. In the South West corner of Lion's Arch is yet another Tengu gate to their domain. Now look at the world map. There is a clear square west of LA, and a clear rectangle east of Caledon Forest. Or would we see two rectangles? Or even just a bent map? Whatever way this goes, I feel the Dominion of Winds will end up more like Fields of Ruin - yes it'll be a new city, but it'll be an explorable city, given the shape of it.

The other one I feel you missed is the one I mentioned to you a while ago - West of the Rin Ruins. That blocked off cave with Flame Legion/Destroyer spikes.

However, please don't think that I'm slashing you or anything. I want to add to your knowledge without sounding like a dick. You do a very good job of building my hype back up to the way it was when I was first discovering GW2 Tyria. (continued)

The Maguuma Wastes? I have a feeling that we will see some hint at a surviving White Mantle unit up there. They had some heavy fortifications that direction in GW1 and they could easily remain - hell, they've had some interaction with my Human storylines already.

I'm really excited for The Isles of Janthir one day.. I am very eager to find out what happened to Lazarus the Dire and in fact, already have my own theories of how they will bring him into the GW2 storyline..

The Deldrimor Front may end up being more a series of caves and tunnels than an overworld map - and in fact, even though they apparently won't have Cantha in this game, I feel this is where we will go to get to Cantha. As we know from GW1, the Dredge tunnelled all the way from Tyria to Cantha to escape slavery, which means the existing tunnel may still be there. Imagine it.. Three long, narrow maps to explore underground, then finally emerging in a thick, luscious forest with trees as tall as skyscrapers and unfamiliar faces - The Wardens. It could be amazing.

I've purposely left The Crystal Desert to the end of this post because Elonia and Elona are very exciting prospects to me. I hate deserts in games, but thanks to Palawa Joko, Elonia is looking rather lush nowadays, now that the Elon River has changed direction. All that Margonite architecture in a green environment will be awesome to explore. And then pushing South, maybe after we have fought some other dragons.. (Fighting Kralkatorrik near Glint's corpse.. Exploring the Tomb of the Primeval Kings..) to Palawa Joko's forces? We know some humans survive there. We know some Sunspears exist. I wonder if Arena Net purposely put this into the lore so that, like Logan being descended from Kieran and Gwen, we may get a helpful NPC who is the descendant of Koss and Melonni. This would be glorious for me. Plus a new undead scene after not having been in Orr for so long (at this point) would be interesting. Not just undead.. But different undead.

It didn't even occur to me when I wrote this at what the Sylvari implications could hold. Malick is from a tree to the West, sure.. Perhaps that is where "The Cave" is.

But what of the Veldrunners? Ventari was a Centaur who knew there was something special about this seed that Ronan had. He put his all into raising this and even set forth the events that brought us suspicious behaviour seen in the Nightmare Court segregation. Something is off here.. Unnatural..

Did Ventari know? Did he know that this seed would grow into something world changing? Well let's take a look at the Veldrunners. In GW Nightfall, you team up with Zhed Shadowhoof a Centaur from the Veldrunner tribe. There are some side quests with this tribe that seem to heavily indicate Sylvari knowledge. They have a tree which they have to protect. The revere this "Ancestor Tree" for some uncertain reason. This tree is so important to their life that they are willing to risk their own lives to protect it. The fruit from this tree was told to us as being divine and the Tree passes down wisdom from one generation to the next.. Passing on knowledge from a current generation to a gestating generation.. Psychically.. Passing on experiences.. Like the Dream..

I mentioned in the last post about the Echovald Forest's trees. Specific trees known as the Forever Trees can be found here, which turn people into Juggernauts. Note here that Juggernaut is one of the 12 GW2 classes that was dropped in the final cut. Also, there is a humanoid plant species here known as the Wardens. Now think back to the Wardens from GW2.. The Sylvari "patrol force" in The Grove.

Didn't realize there was a limit to the size of comments. I'll look to see if there is an option in blogger to change that.

Nope I never played Guild Wars. :( I have seen some of Wooden Potatoes lets plays, and I have read a good chunk of the wikipedia. I do really enjoy the lore and have almost thought about picking up Guild Wars and playing it through. Looks like a great game.

If in fact the Tengu are not a playable race that will be disappointing. I guess we can always hope Arena Net changes their minds. They are in the perfect spot to add in. I definitely missed the connection in Lion's Arch. I will have to edit the article and add that one in. Your right though. I think it looks like two zones. Maybe a capital city to the left and a zone stretching all the way down to between sparkfly fen and southsun.

As for the blocked off pathway in the Black Citadel, from my research, as near as I could tell, you get to access that area during a Charr personal story. I will double check on this. If I am wrong please let me know. I hate speaking from a position of authority then noticing I am wrong later. Would much rather figure it out sooner, rather than later. Very much appreciate you pointing out what I missed :D

The White Mantel is one of those organizations that I discovered researching this article. I wonder if they are still on "Sanctum Cay" with the Tengu? Now that you mention they might be in the Maguuma Wastes that is interesting. I have done the whole human story line and don't remember the White Mantel. Again though, I wouldn't have been looking for them. This kinda of thing makes me want to play through my personal story again. Definitely possible they are still around. IRL pretenders to thrones have waited around for well over 200 years for an opportunity to seize the throne again.

I know nothing of the Isle of Janthir. I will have to read about them. That tunnel in the Deldrimor Front sounds epic, but in my explorations I got the impression that there were no links to that section of the map. You are right though. That could just mean the connections will be underground. I may have to go cave hoping and look for connections.

Funny you do not like Desert scenes. I love them. The desert was my favourite area in DDO. Always love battling from on the dunes (speaking of which Dune is one of my top sci-fi novels). Even in Minecraft I always built my forts in the desert. Who knows what is left of Elona. Sounds like Palawa has been hard at work making their lives miserable. I'm ready to go kick this guys ass and find out though.

The Sylvari stuff is a little over my head. I will have to read up on Ventari and the Veldrunners. I was aware that the Pale Tree was planted by a Centaur. I wonder if the tablet he left has anything to do with staving off the nightmare? I will have to look into that. I do think that the nightmare warriors are some how connected to the 6th dragon. In CoE in the green sector you fight nightmare husks. Some how I think it is all connected back to the 6th dragon. I just don't know enough about the Sylvari to make a good argument.

Thanks for the excellent post! Going to have to read through it again and do some research to fully understand it all. :D Or just start playing Guild Wars 1.

Sorry, you know, sometimes when I get into the flow of Guild Wars discussions I forget not everyone has the knowledge I have and often start rambling. :D

If you go into that cave in the Charr story then my bad. Charr is the only race I haven't got to yet. Next on my list after I finish Norn though.

The White Mantle are present if your human 'never searched for their real parents'.

I'm sure you no doubt know the rough plot of Prophecies? How Saul was kicked out of Kryta and came back with the Mursaat? Well, if I recall correctly, it is said that he travelled to the Isles of Janthir, which is where he discovered te Mursaat - or rather, they discovered him.

It is heavily hinted that these isles are their homelands (despite the fact they probably originated in the Maguuma Jungle.

And like I said.. I am excited to see how Lazarus plays a part in GW2.. I have my guesses but they aren't related to the topic here. :D

I did play GW1, or at least the original campaign at launch and most of Eye of the North in the run-up to GW2. I have the rest but haven't played through them. Despite that, the lore, like the lore in all MMOs, is opaque to me. I know it only by odd fragments, about the same as I know world history in real life.

I wouldn't assume that because certain races were deemed "non-playable" before launch that they will never be playable. GW2 could easily be around for a decade or more; anything's possible. Personally, I can't stand the Tengu, almost solely because the Tengu henchman in GW1 would always run in front of me and get in my way. He had he most irritating animations, too.

If I had to guess what area would open first I'd go for Crystal Desert but second-guessing ANet is a fruitless task.

I have two pictures that might interest you. Both are of Fort Vandal. I'm not exactly sure if there is still a way to get in but there was another one (not shown in the video you linked).http://i.imgur.com/T4WyQEI.jpg this one is from the hills west from Fort Vandal. Yes that's an Asura portal in there.http://i.imgur.com/bcO8M7y.jpg this one is inside, there are no mobs in here, only on the walls. This is the gate that goes to the western direction. You can even see it from the east when outside of the Fort.There are more screenshots like these on howellq.imgur.com, feel free to browse them. I tend to get to places where I shouldn't but what can one do if I enjoy looking for secrets? And of course it grants no advantages over other players, I'm just having a great time doing it.